WMU’s special teams coordinator quits for ‘personal issues’

Posted by John Taylor on August 21, 2013, 10:53 PM EDT

Just a little over a week before the start of a new season, and P.J. Fleck has an unexpected opening on his Western Michigan coaching staff.

Following practice Tuesday, Fleck confirmed that special teams coordinator/defensive backs coach J.B. Gibboney has decided to leave the program due to what was only described as “personal issues.” Gibboney had been hired by Fleck back in early January after he’d spent the previous five seasons at Purdue, the last four as special teams coordinator.

“He came in my office today (Tuesday) and resigned. He quit,” Fleck said according to mlive.com. “We had a good talk. It wasn’t like he just came in my office and said, ‘Hey, I quit.’ He has some personal issues that he needs to deal with and some issues that he wants to be able to handle.

“I support him 100 percent. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors. We had a good conversation for about an hour and he felt the best thing for him was not to coach this year and to be with his family.”

Fleck said that grad assistant Rob Wenger will assume Gibboney’s duties and “[w]e’ll make a permanent decision… here in the near future.”